1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a shipping container formed from sheets of corrugated material, such as paper, and to a system of delivering and assembling such containers.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Long distance shipping crates, and particularly crates for international shipping of goods, are predominantly designed to provide an eight foot by eight foot by forty foot interior space. Crates having dimensions such that, in combination, they substantially fill the 8×8×40 ft. interior space, are employed to subdivide the interior space into subsections. The crates can be any combination of sizes that readily combine to produce an 8×8×40 foot combination. In those instances where the interior space of the cargo transporter is other than a standard 8×8×40 feet, then the crate can be dimensioned to correspond to the interior dimension of the cargo transporter. A cargo transporter is typically a metal shipping container.
Containers intended for intercontinental use have external nominal dimensions of:
Length9.8125 feet (2.991 m), referred to as 10 feet;19.875 feet (6.058 m), referred to as 20 feet;29.9375 feet (9.125 m), referred to as 30 feet; and(12.192 m), referred to as 40 feet.Width8 feet (2.438 m)Height8.5 feet (2.591 m), and9.5 feet (2.896 m).
The 20 feet and 40 feet containers are very popular in ocean freight. The 8.5 feet (8.5′) high container is typically 8 feet 6 inches (8′ 6″) and is often referred to as the “standard container”.
The demand for the high cube container is increasing. The popular high cube container has a normal height of 9.5 feet (9.5′ or 9′ 6″).
There are “half height containers” (4.25′ or 4′ 3″ high) designed for heavy loads such as steel rods and ingots, which absorb the weight limit in half the normal space The most widely used type of container is the general purpose (dry cargo) container having a nominal length and height of 20′×8.5′, 40′×8.5′, and 40′×9.5′. All above dimensions have permissible tolerances. The dimensions set forth above are not fixed, that is, the external and internal dimensions may vary among containers of the same specified length and height.
The container capacity is the total cubic volume (cube) a container can accommodate. The term cube refers to the cubic measurement of cargo. The capacity (i.e., the internal volume) is determined by multiplying the internal dimensions, that is, the product of internal length, width and height. The capacity may vary among containers of the same specified length and height.